Pros: Inductive technology, relatively inexpensive.
Cons: Doesn’t work with third-party remotes.
As far as I’m concerned, the first thing you should do after buying a Wii is to buy a charger for it before you spend your life savings on batteries. Any charger is an improvement over dealing with batteries, but inductive chargers, make your life easiest, since you can recharge without removing the remote’s silicone sleeve or add-ons like the MotionPlus. The latest inductive charger on the market is Penguin United’s new ElectroFLow Charger, which also ranks among the best.
The Good
As with every charger, the ElectroFlow consists of battery packs that replace regular batteries and a charging unit that charges those battery packs. The ElectroFlow charger has places for two remotes. The remote slots are nicely designed, shaped to comfortably hold a sleeved remote yet also designed for an unsleeved one. In either case the remote fits well and won’t easily slip out. The bottom of the slot is open so if a MotionPlus or other device is attached it simply hangs off the end like a tall man’s feet on a short mattress.
The Bad
When I reviewed Tekno Creations' Wii InCharge Dual Charge Station, I went on at length about my annoyance at the blinking light it used to signify the battery pack was charged. Apparently Penguin didn’t read my review, because they have done the same thing. On the bright side, they have placed their flashing light in a less obtrusive place on the charger.
Perhaps a bigger problem for some people is that the battery packs won’t work with third-party remotes like Nyko’s Wand. Other battery packs all have contact points on the top and bottom that emulate standard batteries, but Penguin’s battery pack only has contact points on one side. Somehow this still works with Nintendo’s remote. If you only use Nintendo remotes this isn’t a problem at all, but if you use third party remotes the ElectroFlow is useless.
Conclusion: Very Good with Some Caveats
In spite of these flaws, the ElectroFlow is a well designed, reasonably priced charger that ranks as one of the better inductive chargers available. It’s sure better than buying a truckload of batteries.
